Federer and Djokovic Renew Rivalry for 2015 U.S. Open Crown

September 12, 2015 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff

The 2015 U.S. Open comes to an end Sunday as champions will be crowned in Men’s Singles, Women’s Doubles, and Juniors Boys and Girls.

The marquee match of the day will be played on Louis Armstrong Stadium, as for the 42nd time in their careers, world number one Novak Djokovic will face world number two Roger Federer. Federer holds a slight 21-20 edge in the matchup, the most recent win by Federer at the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati just under a month ago. The champion will earn 2,000 ranking points and take home a prize of $3.3 million. The runner-up receives 1,200 ranking points and $1.6 million.

Djokovic has a lifetime record of 1-4 in the finals of the U.S. Open, while Federer has seen more success at 5-1 in the finals at Flushing Meadows. Federer superstar returns to the finals for the first time since winning five straight titles from 2004-2008, falling to Juan Martin del Potro in 2009.

With his semifinals win over Marin Cilic, Djokovic joined Federer and Rod Laver as just the third player in the Open Era to reach all four Grand Slam finals in a single season. He has advanced to 16 of the last 21 Grand Slam finals overall. Federer reached 18 of 19 from 2005 Wimbledon-2010 Australian Open (also 18 of 21).

A victory on Sunday would make the 34-year-old Federer the first player in the Open Era to win six U.S. Open titles and the oldest U.S. Open champion since 35-year-old Ken Rosewall in 1970.

“There is never a guarantee who the crowd is going to be cheering for,” said Federer of the New York crowd. “I hope the crowd's going to be happy to see me in the finals again after six years. It sounds like a big deal. I still remember the six finals I played 2004-2009. I had many great ones, one very tough one against [Andre] Agassi where the crowd was totally lopsided on his side.”

Should he win in straight sets, Federer will clinch his second Grand Slam title without dropping a set (also 2007 Australian Open) and be the first U.S. Open champion to do so in the Open Era. Neale Fraser was the last at the 1960 U.S. Open.

“I came here with a wish and a mission … to reach the finals and fight for the trophy,” said Djokovic. “So I got myself in that position. It's already a great result. But I want to get to that final step on Sunday and get my hands on that trophy. Obviously I'm not the only one who wants that.”

Before the Men’s Singles champ is crowned, the Women’s Doubles Finals will kick things off on Arthur Ashe Stadium at Noon EST, as the top-seeded duo of Martina Hingis & Sania Mirza faces the fourth-seeded Casey Dellacqua & Yaroslava Shvedova.

"We get along on and off the court,” said Hingis. “That kind of helps, when you can stand each other on the court!”

Two American boys will battle it out for a junior Grand Slam singles title for the second time this year at a major, and once again it’s Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul left standing.

The pair each won their respective semifinals Saturday at the U.S. Open Junior Championships and will square off in Sunday’s final for a rematch of the French Open final the Lumberton, N.J., resident Paul won back in June.

Paul, an 18-year-old who is the number five seed, dusted aside Australian qualifier Alex De Minaur with dropping a game, 6-0, 6-0, in his semifinal match played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

Pembroke Pines, Fla. junior Sonya Kenin will play for the U.S. Open Junior Girls singles title on Sunday.

The 16-year-old and number nine-seeded Kenin beat the 11th-seeded Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-4, 7-5, to advance to the finals. Kenin will face another Hungarian player on Sunday in the final as she squares off against the second-seeded Dalma Galfi, who will become the world’s number one-ranked ITF junior when the new rankings are out on Monday.

Click here for the full schedule of events for Day 14 of the 2015 U.S. Open.


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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